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Violence in the lives of Native American Women: Challenging the on-going impact of colonization

Violence in the lives of Native American Women: Challenging the on-going impact of colonization. Hilary N. Weaver, DSW University at Buffalo (SUNY) USA. Introduction. Violence against indigenous women in the United States and Canada is rampant

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Violence in the lives of Native American Women: Challenging the on-going impact of colonization

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  1. Violence in the lives of Native American Women: Challenging the on-going impact of colonization Hilary N. Weaver, DSW University at Buffalo (SUNY) USA

  2. Introduction • Violence against indigenous women in the United States and Canada is rampant • The societal context perpetuates violence against indigenous women • Safety of indigenous women is crucial to social development and sustainable communities.

  3. An overview of violence in the lives of Native American women • Native American women often experience violence as children and abuse continues throughout adulthood at the hands of multiple perpetrators. • Mental health concerns, suicide attempts, and substance abuse are a result of this violence (Bohn, 2003). • Native women experience 2-3 times more violent victimizations than other women (Saylors & Daliparthy, 2006).

  4. An overview of violence in the lives of Native American women • Domestic violence is the primary concern of Canadian women filing reports with the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (Fiske, 1995). • Native women are sexually assaulted 2 ½ times more often than others (Sullivan, 2007). These rapes tend to be more violent, involve more force, and result in more injuries than rapes typically experienced by non-Native women (Amnesty International, 2007).

  5. The connection between violence and colonization • The strong roles held by women in most Native American societies were deliberately undermined by colonization (Amnesty International, 2007; Smith, 2005). • Today the effects of colonization are internalized (Roberts, et al., 2003). Women have been taught to devalue their cultures, traditions, and themselves.

  6. The connection between violence and colonization (cont.) • Indigenous men and non-indigenous people also receive these messages, internalize this oppression, and learn to perpetuate violence (Weaver, 2009). • “Violence gets turned inward because of the severe repercussions of turning it against the colonial culture” (Walters, 2003, IX).

  7. What can be done? • Action is needed to eliminate violence against Native women. The fact that learned behavior can be changed provides hope. • In essence this is the process of decolonization; to change beliefs and social structures that reinforce that indigenous people are less important, less intelligent, less civilized, and less human than their European American counterparts (Weaver, 2009; Wilson & Yellow Bird, 2005).

  8. References • Amnesty International (2007). United States of America: Maze of Injustice: The Failureto Protect Indigenous Women from Sexual Violence in the USA. www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/035/2007 • Bohn, D.K. (2003). Lifetime physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, depression, and suicide attempts among Native American women. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 24, 333-352.

  9. References • Fiske, J. (1995). Political status of Native Indian women: Contradictory implications of Canadian state policy. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 19(2), 1-30. • Roberts, R.L., Harper, R., Caldwell, R., & Decora, M. (2003). Adlerian lifestyle analysis of Lakota women: Implications for counseling. The Journal of Individual Psychology, 59(1), 15-29.

  10. References • Saylors, K. & Daliparthy, N. (2006). Violence against Native women in substance abuse treatment. American Indian & Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 13(1), 32-51. • Smith, A. (2005). Native American feminism, sovereignty, and social change. Feminist Studies, 31(1), 116-132.

  11. References • Sullivan, L. (2007). Legal hurdles stall rape cases on Native lands. National PublicRadio. All Things Considered. 7/26/07. • Walters, A. (2003). Introduction: Special issue on “Native American women, feminism,and indigenism”. Hypatia, 18(2), IX-XX.

  12. References • Weaver, H.N. (2009). The colonial context of violence: Reflections on violence in the lives of Native American women. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24(9), 1552-1563. • Wilson, W. A. & Yellow Bird, M., Editors. (2005). For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press.

  13. Living Proof. WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES.

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